Former co-star Will Smith is receiving love and support from Nia Long. The Missing star praised Smith’s handling of fame in a Yahoo interview.

“I will always love him and he’s had an incredible career, and he’s carried a burden for many years to try to represent what perfection looks like,” Long says. What success looks like. I didn’t think there was place for humanity as we went up. Perhaps he can now be human.”

On The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Long played Beulah “Lisa” Wilkes, Smith’s fiancée. Since appearing on the renowned show, the pair has stayed pals. 

“We all have our moments in life where we need to reconcile things that we suppress,” she says, referring Smith’s iconic Oscars incident last year, when he punched Chris Rock across the face after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s baldness. “And I think — it’s hard growing up in this business and being front and centre every day, all day.”

Smith apologised to the comedian in a social media video, calling his behaviour “unacceptable” and expressing his regret. “I can say to all of you there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment,” he said spectator in July’s online video. “There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.”

Since ending her 13-year relationship with NBA coach Ime Udoka, Long has battled with the viral side of celebrity. Udoka was accused of having an affair with a Boston Celtics female coworker. The suspected relationship led to Udoka’s suspension as professional basketball team head coach last year.

The actress engaged Udoka in 2015 after dating since 2009. Their 10-year-old son Kez and Long’s 21-year-old son Massai are from a prior relationship.

“I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face when the Boston Celtics organisation decided to make a very private situation public,” Long told The Hollywood Reporter about the Celtics’ press conference on Udoka’s suspension. The actress told THR that the news was “devastating, and it still is.” She pulled her son from school.

“He still has difficult moments,” Long said. “If you’re in the business of protecting women—no one from the Celtics has phoned to check on me or my kids. Very disappointing.”

Despite her recent struggles, Long has had much to celebrate. She celebrated the release of her feature film Missing and is preparing for the Netflix premiere of You People alongside her Best Man co-stars in a Peacock limited series nominated for an NAACP Image Award. 

“Over the last few months, I’ve had some sad moments and had to say, ‘It’s all right. You’ll recover’—oh, my God, I’m crying “Long tells Yahoo. “You pick yourself back up, and you keep it moving.”